One Giant Step Forward
by versifico
Summary: Rory graduates, and Finn has a mysterious surprise for her. Set in the same universe as Announcements. Futurefic, PDLD.


Title: One (Giant) Step Forward

Series: Set in the same universe as "Announcements"; both are part of a multi-story arc that I am trying desparately to name :) Each part will highlight an important moment of the lives of Rory and Finn as a couple; they will not be posted in chronological order. I am working on a sort of rough timeline for this series, as I'm starting to think it will have several parts.

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews to the first part. This is me, now, begging for more reviews. It's been a long time since I've posted stories for others to read, and I forgot just how good it felt to open my mailbox and find all of the review messages! Please, please, please--I'm almost finished with another part to this series, and I'm almost ready to post the first chapter of another fic I'm working on. On another note, I need a beta reader--if anyone is interested, e-mail me at Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, of course.

_May 20_

"Rory."

The bed creaks as he shifts, trying to get comfortable as he waits for her to slowly wake up.

"Rory."

"Mmmmm."

"Love."

"Finn…."

"Cupcake."

She groans, her voice still rough with sleep, and buries her face in the pillow.

"Too much sun. Too little coffee. Go away, little man."

"You insult my manhood so early in the morning? Appalling, Miss Gilmore. Quite appalling. I am very tempted to throw away your coffeepot and deny you access to the coffee cart."

She raises her head minutely, peeking at him from behind the curtain of her hair.

"You couldn't do that."

He raises his eyebrows at her, his patented "Try me" expression. She decides that, when it comes to coffee, she does _not _want to 'try him'. She's experienced once before the amazing power that he (or his friends, to be correct) seem to wield over the various coffee vendors around campus.

Sighing in frustration, she flips herself over in the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"You're mean."

"Does this mean you're waking up, dearest?"

"It means you're getting me coffee before I move an inch."

"As long as you promise to be up and dressed when I get back."

"I'll compromise. I have to shower first, so that's where I'll be when you get back."

"Can I join you?"

She rolls her eyes.

"You think I'm putting up with your shenanigans before I have my coffee?"

"Just checking."

"My guess is you'll never give up."

"Never," he promises, grinning suggestively, as he leans over to kiss her. When his lips brush across hers she lets her eyes slide shut and sighs against him; after another moment she relents and opens her mouth to him. He slides his tongue into her mouth, grazing the corner of her lipsand makingher moan. When he pulls away from her he remains close, his breath coming in whispy puffs against her face, and smiles.

"Morning," she whispers.

"Morning."

"Big day today."

"Don't remind me."

"I thought you were excited."

"I'm excited. And nervous. Terrified. What if I fall?"

"You're not afraid of falling. You're not afraid of being onstage. Next try?"

"Ok, so I'm not afraid of falling."

"Of what, then?"

"Maybe I'm afraid of what comes afterward."

"What's that, love? Drinking, dancing, private striptease that ends with you in bed with yours truly?"

"Striptease?"

"Every man has his fantasies."

"I'll file that one away."

"Ok, let's take a little vacation from normal and be serious. What's got you nervous this morning?"

She hesitates.

"I don't want to lose you."

"Not that easy to do. If you turn around and I'm gone, it's probably best to check all bars within a 2-mile radius."

"Only 2 miles?"

"We're assuming I don't have a car."

"Right."

"You're not losing me. I'll only be in Europe for two weeks, missing you terribly, and then I'll be back in New York."

"Two weeks is a long time," Rory whined, poking her bottom lip out.

"You know I want you to come."

"You know I can't. My job starts at the beginning of June. I've got to get my things out of my dorm, get moved into my new place, spend some time with my mom…"

"I hate that I won't be here to help you move in."

"No, you don't," she says teasingly, "you'll take any excuse to avoid excessive physical labor."

He scoffs at her.

"I've helped you move your things many times! That one time I even braved your grandfather…"

"Oh, yeah," she says, giggling.

"Just remember, love. When I come back I'll be able to walk to see you."

The apartment she found with her mom is a long walk from his, in a slightly less lavish neighborhood; her grandparents are footing the bill until she is established in her job and can take over the cost. They insisted on this arrangement, as they don't want Rory living in what they consider "slums". Once she'd seen the type of apartments she can actually afford on her own, she'd stopped protesting.

"I still can't believe it."

"You're going to be a single woman, braving the social scene of the Big Apple. Very 'Sex in the City'."

"Single?" she asks, raising her eyebrow.

"Okay, scrap that part."

"I can't believe you watch Sex in the City."

"Try to stifle your amazement, dearest. I don't want to give Paris ammunition that powerful."

"You're right. You're not her favorite person right now."

"Only because I'm going to have you all to myself in New York."

"You will have to share me with the paper, you know."

"Share? What's that?"

Laughing, she begins to push herself up and out of bed.

"I really do need to get ready. Graduation and all."

"Good girl."

"Finn?"

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

He flashes her a brilliant grin and kisses her quickly on the lips.

"Love you too. Now get out of bed!"

As she showers, she struggles not to worry about what her life will be like in New York. It's big and scary and she hasn't felt this nervous since her first day of community service.

When she dresses and wanders out into her common room she finds Finn lounging on the couch, holding a cup of steaming coffee out to her, his eyes still glued to the television in front of him. She takes the cup gratefully, downing half of the cup's contents before sighing happily.

"Thank you thank you thank you. I am now officially awake."

"Three thank yous…you must've really needed it today. Your grandmother called. She's coming over with your corsage and your jewelry and to discuss plans for tonight," he pauses, contemplating, "Dear God, she's not going to make you wear a tiara again, is she?"

"Not if she wants me to walk across the stage. I am never, ever reliving that night."

"It wasn't all bad. If I recall correctly, you and I had some quality bonding time that night."

"You asked me to spank you, I refused, you proposed marriage, I refused…you performed an alternately hilarious and frightening "Passion of the Christ" and got me staggering drunk. Quite the memories."

"You're just bitter because that's the night farm boy broke up with you."

"Best thing that ever happened to me," she says cheekily, and leans over to kiss him. "Ok, so maybe it's a tie between that night and Logan leaving for London."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate the honor."

Grinning, she rises from the couch and tugs on his arm.

"You need to go."

"Kicking me out already?"

"Grandma will be here soon, and I'm sure she'll be suspicious as to why you're here at," she glances at the clock, "8 a.m. I love you, but I don't feel like dealing with that drama today."

He sighs dramatically and stands, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll see you at the ceremony?"

"I'll be the one in the dark robe."

"With nothing underneath?" he asks hopefully.

"Keep on dreamin' babe."

She shoves him out of her door playfully, blowing him a kiss as she watches him head down the hallway.

_1 week after graduation_

"Morning love."

"Morning Finn. How's Europe?"

"Old. Boring. No Rory."

"I could've warned you of all of those things before you left."

"I'm stubborn. I wouldn't have listened."

"You're up awfully early. I'm surprised you're not still in bed, nursing a hangover."

"I wanted to talk to you. Knew you'd be up early, finishing your errands. You in the city?"

"Yeah. Just got here a little while ago."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah. Mom was supposed to come but something came up with the inn. It was very mysterious and vague, actually."

"I'm not surprised. You Gilmore girls have always been quite the mystery."

"It's part of our charm."

"Agreed. Where are you now?"

Looking around, she identifies a street sign.

"I might only be 2 minutes from the apartment building."

"Might be?" he asks, amused.

"I guess we'll see in 2 minutes."

"I don't feel very reassured."

"I'll figure it out…after awhile," she says, defensively, although the thought of being perpetually lost for the next year is relatively frightening.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too. I can't wait to see your new place here."

"All in good time, love."

"Now you're sounding as mysterious as mom."

"Then I've achieved my goal. Are you there yet?"

"Umm….yes! I see the building."

"Wonderful. Look to the right of the building, on the street. See anything interesting?"

Confused, she glances around until she spots a black limo that is parked next to the apartment building; Finn's driver, William, is propped against the car's hood, holding up a sign that says 'Rory Gilmore' with several suspiciously wobbly hearts painted on the white posterboard.

"What's going on, Finn?"

"Stop asking questions and enjoy your surprise."

"I'm sorry, did you forget who you were talking to?"

"My mistake. Please _try _to stop asking questions and see if you can even _moderately _enjoy your surprise."

She feels a nervous tingling overtake her as she steps closer to the limo; William straightens when he spots her and smiles.

"Morning, Miss Gilmore. Ready to go?"

Shaking her head in amusement, she allows him to open the door for her and slides inside the sleek car. There is a bottle of champagne waiting in a silver bucket, iced and already open. She extracts a flute from a discreet cabinet and pours herself a glass, sipping as she feels the car pull away from the building.

She has no idea what Finn is planning, but she has a feeling that it is _big _and very possibly wonderful.

"We're here, Miss Gilmore," William informs her a very short time later, and he parks the limo again. A moment later he has opened the door for her and she leaves her drink, gathering her messenger bag and climbing out with little grace.

"Where exactly is here?"

He simply waves his hand to indicate the building beside them; it's big and very pretty, obviously quite old but well kept.

"I am to instruct you to go inside, take the elevator to the 10th floor, and you will be escorted further from there.

She draws her eyebrows together questioningly, wanting to ask for more information but knowing that William most likely does not know anything more.

"Thanks, William."

"My pleasure, Miss Gilmore. Enjoy your morning."

Facing the building, she takes a deep breath and heads inside. The lobby is plush and quiet; a middle-aged woman in a crisply pressed navy business suit looks up and offers her a warm smile.

"Miss Gilmore?"

"Umm…yes."

This kept getting stranger by the minute.

"Good morning. I trust you have your instructions?"

"Yes, I do."

"Enjoy your morning."

"You too."

She spots the elevator, tucked away into a corner of the spacious lobby, and when she reaches it the doors slide open magically. There's actually an elevator operator inside, something she's only seen in movies (Pretty Woman?). She murmurs that she'd like the 10th floor and when he presses the button; the doors slide closed again silently. She looks up as the elevator ascends, too nervous to offer pleasantries to the man standing silently in the corner.

When a bell dings quietly and the doors slide quietly, her breath is taken away.

"Finn."

"Hello, love," he says, his voice almost a whisper.

"You're supposed to be in Europe."

"Europe? Whoever said anything about Europe?"

His eyes are twinkling and she feels herself drawn in by his obvious excitement.

"You've been here the whole time?"

He nods his head and takes her hand; he leads her silently towards a door marked 1001. The door is unlocked and opens into the apartment soundlessly.

She is surprised as she takes in the spacious loft; the living room is huge and open, with a staircase leading up to an open balcony area. The kitchen gleams with stainless steel appliances, dark marble counters, and smooth, polished wooden cabinets. There's a dark leather couch (distinctly Finn, she thinks) and an appealing-looking overstuffed reading chair that's nestled beside a gas fireplace. Finally her eyes fall on her favorite feature of the room, three floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves.

"Wow, Finn. This is gorgeous. I love it."

"I'm glad you approve."

He smirks when he notices that she's still staring at the bookshelves; he knows that she's imagining how her extensive book collection will look filling them.

"C'mon, I want to show you something."

He takes her hand and leads her down a hallway to their right, all the way to the end. He opens another door and, when she sees the bedroom, she feels like she's forgotten to breathe.

"What do you think of the bedroom?"

The bed that stands in the middle of the room is _her _bed, the heavy, beautiful sleigh bed she'd picked out with her mom for _her _apartment. It's made with the sheets and comforter that she bought last week. Looking around the room, she sees that several of her other things are placed strategically as well, mixed in with what she recognizes as some of Finn's things.

Finally she turns to look at Finn. When he sees the tears in her eyes and the huge smile that breaks across her face, he lets out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You want me to move in," she states, her voice full of emotion.

"Yeah. I want you to move in."

"Okay."

Laughing heartily, he picks her up and hugs her tightly against him before picking her up from the floor and spinning her around excitedly.

When he puts her down she is dizzy and lightheaded and indescribably happy.

"Hey Rory?"

"Yeah Finn?"

"Is it safe to say you're feeling pretty happy with me right now?"

"Yep. Very happy. Finn's been a good boy."

"Does that mean we can christen the bed now?"

She laughs again as she leans up to kiss him.

"I think that's a definite possibility."

Hope you liked. As I'm sure you figured out, this occured some time before Announcements. Don't forget to review!


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